As students begin their fast-paced college years, they are often faced with the daunting task of stocking their living spaces with the essentials. With the disruption to purchasing essentials, many students can't help but wonder how they will be able to maintain entertainment from home life. As a student, purchasing and storing a television can be both financially and time-consuming. GateTVs is Colgate University's only TV rental service, created by seniors and co-founders Ethan Cott and Ali Ross, to offer an alternative.
GateTV is available to students in all types of housing, including university-owned townhouses, dorm buildings, and off-campus housing in Hamilton Village. GateTV delivers the TV before students arrive on campus and picks it up after they leave for summer vacation. Certain amenities and services will also be provided.
As freshmen during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kotto and Ross found themselves exploring their passion for business while creating an easy way for students to access entertainment. Ta.
“After being confined to my dorm room during COVID-19 quarantine during my first year, I wished I had more entertainment options as a student,” Ross said. “GateTV was born because we wondered why people can rent refrigerators and microwaves, but not TVs. The demand for TVs continued even after the lockdown, so we pursued this idea.”
Cott and Ross approached Thought into Action (TIA), Colgate University's entrepreneurship development institute, and were accepted. Through its mentorship program, TIA has matched GateTV with Colgate alumni who are successful or currently running businesses. These alumni volunteer their time to work with Colgate students.
Mr. Kott further elaborated that GateTV's mentors through the TIA program contributed to their business success.
“We are fortunate to have not only a great staff at TIA, but also the mentorship of alumni such as Per Sexe, Gary Rudolph, and Josh Lasker, who have both experience as entrepreneurs and successful Colgate alumni. I also got help. [have] Through active mentorship, he has given us the tools to not only build a profitable company, but also learn more than we ever imagined in the business world here at Colgate.” said.
Ross shared a moment of encouragement between the team and Per Sexe.
“It can be especially difficult at first,” Ross says. “I remember Per Sexe saying, 'Just get the first sale.'” Go and borrow one of his TV sets. ” After the first rental, I had the confidence and momentum to continue with more rentals. Fortunately, his TV inventory has grown to 60 units, all of which have been rented this year. ”
Cotto and Ross are looking forward to a new chapter at GateTV after graduating this May. The next leaders are first-year students Zahara Fiorentinos and Matt Nemsic, who are excited about the opportunity to grow GateTV as a company.
Towards the beginning of this academic year, GateTV reached out to the student body to find a successor leader for the company. They were looking for someone with creativity, dedication, and an entrepreneurial spirit to continue GateTVs' upward trajectory. After a series of applications and interviews, Fiorentino and Nemsic became the future of Gate TV.
Fiorentinos expressed his enthusiasm for this new opportunity.
“Overall, this is a very exciting opportunity to improve your marketing skills and learn more about running a successful business and building connections,” Fiorentinos said. “I am excited about the possibility of working on marketing campaigns and interacting with customers. I am also excited to have the opportunity to get more involved with Colgate in general, especially through his TIA, to learn from mentors and to collaborate with other students.” You can connect with.”
As for future plans, GateTVs hopes to expand Colgate's customer base by encouraging more students to rent TVs. They aim to explore the possibility of expanding GateTV's rental service to other schools.
Mr. Kotto expressed his excitement about GateTV's future leadership.
“If you had told me when we started this company that we could achieve the same level of success that we have, I would have said you were crazy. Even after we leave here, We are so happy to know that this adventure lives on. [Nemsick] and [Fiorentinos] We are leading GateTV,” Kotto said. “We have the utmost confidence that they will not only continue the success the company has achieved, but also take it to new levels.”